Shirt



Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to attaching means for the interconnection of garment members and more specifically to shirts wherein the waist portions thereof are detachably connected to the trouser portions. The present invention constitutes in part certain improvements over my application for Patent Serial No. 754,979, filed November 27, 1934 and patented November 17, 1936, No. 2,061,181.

The main object of the invention is the provision of structure whereby trousers are detachably connected to the shirt at the waist portion thereof to be supported thereat without the use of any suspenders or belt and whereby the front of the shirt is kept taut and neat in appearance, while the back of the shirt is loosely draped in a blouse effect.

Another object of the invention is the elimination of elastic parts in the construction thereof so that the relation and efficiency in the parts of the shirt are unimpaired by repeated washings yet, by the novel arrangement of the shirt components, the effect of elasticity in certain parts is obtained.

The present invention makes provision for attaching means situate approximate the waist portion of a garment juxtaposing any other connecting edge thereof whereby connection and disconnection of the trousers or other nether garment is made easily and quickly with very slight increase in the number of parts, so that the earment is less binding, more comfortable and cooler in hot weather.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of novel structure whereby the belt member thereof gives comfortable abdominal support and at the same time all the new structure is within the nether portions of the garment so that the said new structure is invisible when worn and the waist portion of the garment presents a neat and trim appearance in front and a draped or blouse effect in the back.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of structure in a shirt of the trousers supporting type of means whereby greater freedom of movement of the wearer is permitted Without any sacrifice in support by reason of the novel structure of the sleeve elements and the belt element.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear in the progress of this disclosure and the novelty thereof will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings show a preferred type of the invention as embodied in two alternate forms and as applied to a mans shirt. It is distinctly understood, however, that other embodiments of the invention are feasible in other types of garments where certain portions are adapted to be alternately separated from or connected with other portions such as the seat portion of a garment, and the connecting edges of any and all other types of garments.

In the drawings now to be described, corresponding reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views thereof.

Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of the invention as worn in conjunction with trousers and as viewed from the front thereof.

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of the invention as worn with the trousers removed for clarity and as viewed from the rear thereof.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the belt member of the garment in the position which it takes when worn and under proper tension.

Figure 4 is a View similar to that of Figure 3 with the exception however that the rear portion of the belt member is shown in an untensioned position.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic pattern view of the rear and front walls of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a partial diagrammatic pattern view taken similarly to Figure 5 and showing one alternate embodiment of the belt member as attached thereto.

Figure 7 is a partial diagrammatic pattern view taken similarly to Figure 6 and showing another alternate embodiment of the belt member as attached thereto.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the embodiment of the belt member shown in Figure 6 prior to the folding operations to be performed thereon and as detached from the garment proper.

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 with the belt'member shown after the folding operation has been completed and with the belt in the shape it will occupy after being attached to the garment proper.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the alternate embodiment of the belt member shown in Figure '7 as detached from the garment proper.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of Figure 6 as taken along the plane I I--H thereon.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of Figure '7 as taken along the plane l2-l2 thereon.

In accordance with the invention and in accordance with the accompanying drawings, numeral [0 indicates the back wall, numeral H the left front wall and numeral l2 the right front wall of a mans shirt. As indicated on Figure 3, these shirt portions are of comparatively normal shape as at present known in the shirt makers art. It is to be noted, however, that the sleeve members !3 and M are provided with extensions i5 and iii to the upper portions thereof, so that said sleeves instead of being affixed to the garment on a line indicated by the dot-dash lines I and i8, they are joined to the shoulder portion of the garment considerably inwardly thereof on the seams indicated by the numerals l9 and 20. In order to make proper accommodations for the sleeve extensions l and 46, the armholes in the shirt body proper are set higher than normally so that the lower margin of said armholes indicated by numeral 2| is snug fitting under the arm. The structure just described is best seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

The width of back wall In is normal for a given size but the normal foldings thereof, instead of being allowed to haphazardly drape themselves, are uniformly gathered adjacent the waist portion thereof as will be more fully described below, and the fullness across the upper back portion adjacent the shoulders is taken in by stitching together the portions of the cloth indicated by a pair of dash lines (reference numeral 22) on Figure 3. The outer free edges of the front walls H and l 2 may be adapted for detachable connection in any suitable manner known in the art such as buttons and buttonholes and, in addition, the overlapping free edge is provided with a tab 23 situated at the waistline thereof. Tab 23 is indicated in dotted lines on Figure 1. Tab 23 is adapted for detachable connection with the central frontal portion of the trouser waistband as will be more particularly set forth below.

The belt member indicated generally by the numeral 24 is composed of any suitable material. It is preferably of double thickness as this member is subjected to some strain. In the preferred embodiment of the belt member shown in Figures 8, 9, and 6, the belt is preferably composed of a single sheet of material folded upon itself along the longitudinal axis thereof as indicated at numeral 25. In this embodiment the belt member 24 is constructed so that it comprises two spaced level portions 25 and 21, a central vertically dropped portion 28 and two downwardly diverging ends 29 and 30. As indicated on Figure 8, the belt member 24 is provided with tucks at four points, each of which is adjacent one of the level portions 26 or 21, so that the belt, when so tucked, takes approximately the shape shown in Figure 9. The said tucks are triangular in shape and are formed by joining the adjacent pairs of folds 3| and 32 indicated by the dot-dash lines on Figure 8. In Figures and 7 there is shown another alternative embodiment of the belt member indicated by numeral 24 which comprises two spaced level portions 26' and 21', a central vertically dropped portion 28 and two downwardly diverging ends 29' and 3D. The essential difference between the belt member 24' and the belt member 24 is that the former is constructed in the shape indicated in Figure 10 in the first instance as contrasted with the latter which is tucked to provide the proper shape. The loss in additional material cost of constructing belt member 24 is made up by the reduced cost in labor, while in large quantities there is no increase in material cost.

Turning now to Figure 5, the two-dot-dash line 33 indicates the normal waistline of the garment and as this term is currently employed in the art to which this invention pertains, the term waistline indicates an imaginary horizontal circum-- ferential line travelling about the person of the wearer of the garment at a point slightly above hip bones thereof. This is the portion of the garment at which the upper edge or waistband of the trousers is placed and it is to be noted at this point that all of the attaching means for supporting the trousers at the front portion of the shirt are placed on this imaginary line. The short horizontal solid lines 34 are placed slightly above the waistline 33 and outwardly (as viewed on Figure 5) of the vertical seams 35 and 36 which join the front walls I l and [2 to the back wall If]. Level portions 26 and 21 (or 26 and 21) of the belt member 24 are stitched to the front walls II and I2 respectively at the lines 34. The dotted line 3! is dropped below the waistline 33 across the greater central portion of the back wall I0 and adjacent the seams 35 and 36 curves upwardly to meet the inner ends of the lines 34. The central dropped portion 28 (or 28) is attached at the upper edge thereof to the garment along the dotted line 31 and since the width of the back wall Ill is greater than the central dropped portion 28 (or 28), the back wall is uniformly gathered so that an outward blouse effect is produced. In Figures 11 and 12 there are illustrated two alternative methods of connecting the belt member to the garment along the dotted line 37. In Figure 11 the belt member is folded upon itself at the upper longitudinal edge thereof and stitched therethrough directly to the garment by a row of stitches 38. In Figure 12 the belt member is folded upon itself along the upper longitudinal edge thereof. The garment, however, is out along the dotted line 31 and the two free edges bordering this line are stitched together with a row of stitches 39, thereby reinforcing the garment at this point, and the belt member is in turn stitched to the seam formed by stitches 39, which seam has been folded downwardly as indicated in Figure 12, so that all of the raw edges of the fabric are sealed beneath the belt member.

Continuing on Figure 5, the three-dot-dash lines 40 indicate generally the course of travel taken by the ends of the belt members 29 and 30 (or 29 and 30') but it is to be noted that the belt member is detached from the body of the garment beyond the outer ends of the lines 34. The said free ends of the belt member are provided with suitable means for connecting and disconnecting them, such as buttons 4| and corresponding buttonholes 42 (or 4| and 42) or any other suitable means well known in the art may be employed, such as belt buckles and so forth. The central dropped portion 28 (or 28') is provided with spaced buttonholes 43 (or 43'), symmetrically disposed with relation to the central vertical axis of the garment as indicated by the single-dot-dash center-lines on Figures 3, 6 and 7. The level portions 26 (or 2B) are similarly provided with buttonholes 44 and 44'. Where desired, the belt member may be further afiixed to the body of the garment by means of short vertical rows of stitches 45 as indicated on Figure 7.

When the shirt is worn after connecting the free edges of front walls H and I2 as heretofore set forth generally, the belt member 24 (or 24) is drawn up snug so that the downwardly diverging ends 29 and 30 (or 29 and 30') are placed below the abdomen of the wearer. Drawing the said ends together will result in the levelling off of the central dropped portion 28 (or 28') from the position shown in Figure 4 to the position shown in Figure 3, thereby causing the back wall I0 to form a uniform draping or blousing as indicated at numeral 46. This action is also illustrated in Figure 2, in which the dot-dash lines indicate the dropped position of the rear portion of the belt, whereas the full lines show the adjusted position thereof as normally worn. It is the looseness of the back provided by the blousing 46, together with the altered position of the seams l9 and 20, which create sufficient 'play in the rear portion of the garment so that the same is entirely comfortable even though used without suspenders to support the trousers indicated gen erally by numeral 41. It is to be noted, however, that owing to the natural protuberance of the abdomen of the wearer, the downwardly diverg-- waistband of the trousers is provided with buttons on the inside thereof to correspond with the location of the said buttonholes as is generally known in the art. Because the weight of the trousers is carried from three points in front which are directly connected to the two front walls II and I2 of the shirt, the surface thereof is maintained in a smooth, plane and neat condition. The weight of the trousers as supported in the rear is not carried by the shirt back wall l0 but rather by the belt member which in turn is supported by reason of the tension under which ends 29 and 30 (or 29' and 30) pivots said belt member about the level portions 26 and 21 (or 26 and 21). This serves to maintain the centrally dropped portion 28 (or 2B) of the belt member in a tensioned position which, however,

is not absolute but is effected by. the movements of the abdomen.

It will now be seen that I have disclosed a novel type of shirt in which are combined the feature of trousers support without the use of suspenders as currently known and of an abdominal support which is light in weight and comfortable. The shirtfront as it is worn is maintained in a smooth, taut and neat appearance, the shirt rear is provided with a good looking bloused effect and although the shirt supports the trousers, there is no binding or discomfort about the shoulders even when the wearer bends or stoops. The weight of the trousers is widely distributed along the entire belt member together with the front tab and there is no excessive strain at any one point along said belt. This distribution of weight makes possible the construction of the belt member and tab of comparatively light material with a corresponding increase in comfort to the wearer.

It is understood that minor changes and variations in the construction and detail of thedisclosure herein may be indulged in without departing from the spirit of the invention and without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a body garment bearing side seams and adapted to have a nether garment attached thereto, a belt member affixed to said body garment, means for detachably attaching the nether garment to said belt member, and downwardly diverging ends on said belt member free of connection with the front wall of said body garment extending forwardly towards the center thereof, from points adjacent the said side seams, and adapted to support the abdomen of the wearer.

2. In a body garment adapted to have a nether garment attached thereto, a belt member affixed to said body garment, means for detach,- ably attaching the nether garment tosaid belt member, a portion of said belt member being attached to the body garment at the normal waistline thereof, the rear portion of said belt member being substantially dropped below the normal waistline of said garment so that when the belt member is adjusted for normal wear, the rear of said body garment is caused to blouse thereabove.

3. In a body garment adapted to have a nether garment attached thereto, a belt member affixed to said body garment, means for detachably attaching the nether garment to said belt member, a portion of said belt member being attached to the body garment at the normal waistline thereof, and downwardly diverging free ends on said belt member adapted to support the abdomen of the wearer, the rear portion of said belt member being substantially dropped below the normal waistline of said garment so that when the belt is adjusted for normal wear, the rear of said body garment is caused to blouse thereabove.

4. In a body garment adapted to have a nether garment attached thereto, a tab located below the waistline and centrally of the front wall of said garment, a belt member a portion of which is affixed to said body garment at the normal waistline thereof, means for'detachably attaching the nether garment to said belt member and said tab, and downwardly diverging free ends on said belt member adapted to support the abdomen of the wearer.

5. In a body garment adapted to have a nether garment attached thereto, a tab located below the waistline and centrally of the front wall of said garment, a belt member aiiixed to said body garment and having a portion thereof aiiixed to said garment substantially at the normal waist line thereof, means for detachably attaching the nether garment to said belt member and said tab, the rear portion of said belt member being substantially dropped below the normal waistline of said garment so that when the belt member is adjusted for normal wear, the rear of said body garment is caused to blouse thereabove.

6. In a body garment adapted to have a nether garment attached thereto, a tab located below the waistline and centrally of the front wall of said garment, a belt member amxed tosaid body garment and having a portion thereof affixed to said garment substantially at the normal waistline thereof, means for detachably attaching the nether garment to said belt member and said tab, and downwardly diverging free ends on said belt member adapted to support the abdomen of the wearer, the rear portion of said belt member being substantially dropped below the normal waistline of said garment so that when the belt' is adjusted for normal wear, the rear of said body garment is caused to blouse thereabove.

RALPH YACOVINO. 

